By Beth Anne Piehl, News-review Staff Writer

Residents and visitors who enjoy them can credit city taxpayers for much of the beautification that has taken place along the water's edge in the past decades.

Enhancement of city recreation areas is just one spending priority for local cities, which manage millions of dollars each year and decide - among mayors and city councils, commissions and full-time administrators - how to most effectively spend it.

Over the past several months, the News-Review examined the 2001 revenues and expenses of the five cities in Emmet and Charlevoix counties: Boyne City, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Harbor Springs and Petoskey.

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While they share many traits - those stunning waterfronts, quaint downtowns and some utility services - they also face the same issues of their big-city counterparts.

How to best provide police and fire protection to thousands of residents? What should a city's role be in paying for recreation opportunities? How should profits from electric utilities - notoriously a city's money-maker - be spread to cover other city financial needs?

"We're trying to do things appropriate to what this city should do," said Fred Geuder, city manager of Harbor Springs. "I think people are happy."

David White, city administrator in East Jordan, said city residents have different spending priorities, a consideration he tries to mesh with the city's goals.

"There's 2,507 residents of this town," White said. "Each one has a different item that affects them."

Where the money goes

Each city in the north places different emphases on where tax dollars go. Where one city might spend 35 percent of its budget on parks and recreation, another might spend under 10 percent.

Depending on the year, cities' spending pictures can be very different as assorted projects take center focus.

"It varies so much from year to year," said Mike Wiesner, Charlevoix's city manager. "You're just getting a snap shot."

And the different cities, with their different fiscal years, unique needs and varying visions, produce variant budgets.

"It's hard to compare apples to apples," Wiesner said.

But it's not impossible to get a general picture of how cities spend tax dollars in relation to one another.

Mostly, spending falls along several main categories, it's just the amount in each that varies. Those main areas are: public safety, administration and operations, parks and recreation, public works, streets and sidewalks and utilities.

Cities derive revenues mainly from city property taxes, but also a portion from state revenue sharing dollars and grants, roughly 10 percent or less.

While cities manage up to 20 or more funds annually, the general funds are the main source of funding for the day-to-day operations of city government.

That's where the bulk of taxpayer dollars go to keep city hall staffed and the workers there paid; it's where the money comes from to ensure flowers downtown are watered; it's where police wages are paid to ensure public safety protection.

Among the main categories of spending within the general fund, following is a look at how the local cities fared next to one another in 2001.

Public Safety

When it comes to public safety, Petoskey has the largest department; an obvious conclusion considering it has the largest population.

It is also the only one with cross-trained police and firefighters who carry the title of public safety officer.

Charlevoix and Petoskey are the only two cities that have full-time paid fire and police personnel. In East Jordan, Boyne City and Harbor Springs, police are full-time but firefighters are paid, on-call volunteers.

By comparison, Boyne City spent 30.9 percent of its general fund on public safety; Charlevoix, 34.8 percent; East Jordan, 30.9 percent; and Harbor Springs, 38.2 percent.

"It is a significant amount, as it is anywhere," said Geuder, of Harbor Springs. "It is a choice for this city. We try to keep 24-hour coverage. We're not required to, but we're certainly allowed to."

Cities are not mandated by law to provide police or a jail, according to Geuder, unlike counties which are required to provide a jail.

Sheriffs' offices in Charlevoix and Emmet counties and the Michigan State Police post supplement cities' police coverage, each with its own jurisdiction. The departments share information and assist each other, according to East Jordan's White.

"There's some overlap, but only because criminals don't do crimes in set boundaries," said White.

Charlevoix's treasurer Rick Brandi said public safety is an expense-heavy, but necessary, operation. In 2001, his city brought in $62,000 from the department, mostly in speeding tickets, other fines and contracts with nearby townships, while it spent $534,000.